Friday the 13th: What is the origin myth of our calendar horror?

Sometimes I dive into topics and get disappointed. Mention Friday the 13th to any Freemason, and you're going to hear about Jacques De Molay and the Knights Templar.

The Templars — formally, the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, were founded in 1119 as the military arm of the Catholic Church. They were central to the Crusades, and as they grew in fame, they grew in power. As they grew in power, they became less of a military organization — though they remained elite fighters, at the height of the Templars' power fewer than 10% of their numbers were part of their forces.

They became protectors of the people, and then protectors of the people's stuff. They created complex financial systems and eventually grew a little too powerful for the comfort of sovereigns in the area.

As the Muslim world started to overcome the Crusades, the Church and rulers throughout the Christian world started to come down hard on the Templars. In 1305, Pope Clement V took over. He was based in France, and he brought Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay there to discuss a merger with another organization, the Hospitaliers. The grand master of that organization was delayed by several months and de Molay asked King Philip IV to reverse some older charges against a Templar.

On Friday the 13th of October, 1307, King Philip IV ordered the Templars arrested, de Molay included. The grand master would be executed seven years later.

The boys organization related to Freemasonry is named after de Molay, and there is a rumored link between modern Masons and the Templars.

Many people believe the Friday the 13th raid on the Templars was the beginning of the legend of Friday the 13th as a day of bad luck, but alas, it appears it's nothing so dramatic.